Rowan Counterintuitive

Keep your EYES on the Road

[0:00] The opening sense is a young boy getting into the driver seat of an older car. You can instantly tell this is not going to be a car ad ass the car is older and not knew and shiny. The boy is wearing a dark blue t-shirt and jeans. He is Caucasian and has short dark hair. He looks clean and well kept. You can tell that he is a middle class boy, he doesn’t have tons of money but he is also not completely poor. He looks like he is in high school or early college. When getting into this older car, something similar to an 1989 ford Lincoln, he has his cell phone in his hand it and looks as if he is texting someone probably his friend or a girl as he is slightly smiling. His cell phone looks to be some type of smart phone again reassuring that he is middle class.

[0:01- 0:03] The boy takes his right hand and reaches across his body for the buckle and buckles himself. This entire time he does not take his eyes off his phone, which is in his left hand. It is clear that he is overly submersed in his phone and seems like he drives often as he does this entire motion without even thinking about it.

[0:04-0:05] The boy is now adjusting the rear view mirror with his right hand but never looks up from his phone which continues to be in his left hand to see where he is adjusting the mirror. He moves the mirror about twice. By him moving the mirror when getting in there is a chance that he is not the only one who drives the car and probably shares the car with a sibling. The car seems too older for his parent to be driving so he wouldn’t share it with them.

[0:06-0:07] the boy now takes his right hand and reaches for the keys which are in the ignition and starts the car turning the keys forward. He continues to look only at his phone in his left hand. He again seems like he drives often and can do all of this without thinking about it and it is complete muscle memory. Also you can tell who ever he is talking to he is thoroughly enjoying the conversation he is having as he cannot look up from the phone.

[0:08-0:09] The boy reaches up for the shifter which is places behind the steering wheel on the right side. He pulls it down and puts the car into gear. He continues to look at the phone in his left hand the entire time.

[0:10] The boys right hand now transitions onto the top of the steering wheel and he lends back into a comfortable position while still viewing his phone. He seems like he is trying to impress the other person on the other side of the screen maybe thinking he is talking to a girl.

[0:11] The still image of the boy in the car in a laid back position with his right hand on the top of the steering wheel and his head slanted downwards towards his phone in his left hand fades slowly to the background. Big red letters that spell the word STOP in all capital letters appear across the screen. By the letters being red it is clear it catches your attention to pay attention to those words. Red is a statement color and attracts the attention of a person, making it hard to look away. By the word being stop it creates a sense of wonder if the director is talking to the watcher or the boy in the car.

[0:12-0:14] An image of an iguana appears the screen. The iguana’s eyes are moving all around looking in multiple different directions . The words Can you do this? Appear along the bottom of the screen in white. The words can you do this are referring to the iguanas eyes being able to move completely around viewing everything around them looking in two completely different directions. Again you are unsure if the words can you do this are referring to the boy or the viewer however it seems it is addressing both people.

[0:15-0:16] The camera goes back to the boy in the car but is now zoomed in on the boy’s face. The camera shows from his chest up. The phone is now in his right hand held up higher in front of his face. His left hand is on the steering wheel. He is attempting to move his eyes around the same way the iguana was from the previous screen. The boy has a strange smirk on his face but also expresses a sense of confusion. The boy realizes he cannot do what the iguana does and seems confused by who is asking him to do this as well as why.

[0:17]The screen is the same as the prior one except for the word No? in white appears on the bottom of the screen. The director again is addressing both the driver and the viewer as the director wants you to imagine being in the boys shoes. He is saying no referring to being able rolling they eyes and is asking the question rhetorically.

[0:18] The boy now looks completely away from his phone and shrugs his shoulders, suggesting he is the answering the question asked and is saying I don’t know. The grin is still on his face and the word No? is still on the screen. He also now turns his head to face the camera on the right side of his body as if he is looking for direction of what top do know and is showing prompt attention to the viewer as the director. The director has these question screens pulling the boys attention away from the phone, insulating what the director is asking is more important than that phone.

[0:19] The camera slowly fades out showing the majority of the car and the boy through the passenger side window. By the camera zooming out showing the whole car insulates there is more important things then what is in the car and when driving you are affecting more than just you. The boy takes the phone which is in his right hand and tosses it up and it lands in the passenger seat, which shows the boy doesn’t care much about the phone anymore and realizes there is more important things in life then driving and texting. He then looks forward as if he is about to drive.

[0:20] the car drives out of the screen from the left to right, showing he is on the way to his destination and is completely paying attention to what is going on around him.

[0:21] the screen now shows a picture of the woods with a short wooden fence along the side of the road appears and the words Then DON’T text and drive. appear in the front of the screen. The letters are in white and the only letters in capital are DON’T and the T in then. The background is the background after the car leaves showing that he has left and got the messages he should not text and drive. By the director saying DON”T in all capital letters it puts an intense emphasis on that you should not do it.

[0:22] The screen fades to black, as if the ad is over.

[0:23- 0:26] Then words Keep both EYES on the road. Appear on the black screen. They are in a blueish, greenish colored collage fading from one to the other as if its the skin of the iguana. The word EYES is in all caps insulting that your eyes are the most important part of driving is looking and paying constant attention.

[0:27-0:29] The screen now transitions into the same black screen with yellow dash marks going through the bottom of the screen mimicking the road.  In the middle of the screen “STOPTEXTSSTOPWRECKS.ORG” appears. The letters are all in caps and STOP is in yellow while the rest is in white, showing that stop is the most important part of the phrase. On the left side of the dash marks the words project yellow light area with a traffic sign and below that Ad councils symbol appears. On the right side of the dash marks appears NOYS in blue and under that is NHTSA with a symbol along that in the beginning, showing all the afflicting organizations with this movement and add.

Don’t Set Yourself Back

• (0:00-0:01)-The first shot shows a man doing pushups in a dreary, semi-lit room. His hair is medium brown and of medium length but looks clean and well groomed. He is fair skinned and his face is showing some stubble but whether that is done on purpose is unclear. He looks to be somewhere in his twenties but no older than early thirties.
• (0:02-0:05)-The second shot shows the same man sitting up against a wall in the same room. This picture reveals he is wearing blue jeans, a short sleeved, white, crewneck t-shirt and dark socks. He seems at ease in a relaxed position, throwing playing cards into an empty coffee can. However, his facial expression shows signs of boredom and frustration like he’s trying to pass the time. Why not leave the room? Or is he not allowed to? A doleful song is played on a harmonica in the background.

• (0:05-0:07)-The following shots show the man staring longingly at two photos. The first is a photo of a really nice, shiny, black, old sports car in a driveway. Is it his? The second photo is of a pretty, dark haired woman with fair skin and a soft smile. She looks to be close to his age. She’s only shown from the elbows up. What’s the relationship between the man and woman? Were they together at some point? Where is she now?
• (0:08-0:12)-In next few shots, the man is shown playing a harmonica, stacking matchsticks, and crossing days off an empty calendar with a sharpie, after which he drops his head against the calendar in defeat. These reinforce the idea of boredom and loneliness.
• (0:13-0:15)-He is now sitting on the floor up against what looks like a bed and his bouncing something off the wall in front of him. It’s probably a ball of some kind but isn’t made clear. This makes a thumping noise. From the position and angle of the trees outside the window we can see he’s most likely in a room on an upper floor. The design of the window implies that he’s in a house or apartment, some kind of residential building. The leaves have fallen from the branches and the bark looks light and dry. It gives the impression that it’s also getting colder or coming out of a colder season.
• (0:17-0:20)-It seems the noise has attracted some attention as an older woman, probably in her forties or early fifties, opens the door carrying a woven laundry basket. She’s dressed in a floral blouse and tan cardigan. Her outfit and the laundry basket imply she lives in the house and his doing some housekeeping. Her hair is dark brown and cropped short. Her expression appears frustrated and she sternly tells the man in the room to “knock it off.” He replies “sorry mom.”
• (0:20-0:22)-A wider shot reveals this has all taken place in what looks like a teenage boy’s bedroom. There are posters decorating the walls and several sports trophies are on display throughout the room. It’s implied that this is the man’s bedroom. However, we must ask why it looks as if it’s inhabited by a boy about half his age.
• (0:22-0:25)The man then picks himself up from the floor and promptly flops onto the small twin bed behind him in defeat.
• (0:22-0:31)As the ad ends, the words “Buzzed, Busted, Broke” flash across the screen with red and blue police lights and a siren blaring behind them. The purpose of the ad is to appeal to people from a financial viewpoint. Being arrested for driving while even slightly intoxicated can result in high fines and legal fees. It’s implied that the man was arrested for “buzzed” driving and had to pay the fines and legal fees which made him “broke.” He’s now living back at home with a woman we presume to be his mother.